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Why Gonzalesâ€™s Nose Is Growing

Letâ€™s be real; whatâ€™s worse? Some people who snuck into this country to gain a better life, or, those who use the manipulation of fear and cultural ignoranceâ€”while repeatedly lying on the podium of Congress to continue an illegal war which has led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people?

[Speaking Truth To Power]

In the hallowed halls of Washington, the lies just keep piling up.

The Democrats have called for a special prosecutor to investigate whether Attorney General Alberto Gonzales lied to Congress. This latest Capitol Hill showdown started brewing after Gonzales’s latest “testimony.”

Gonzales has been on the hot seat for his role in the partisan, political firings of eight attorneys who were evidently dismissed for not indicting enough Democrats in the run-up to the 2006 Elections—negating a “November Surprise”—which proved to be a disaster for Republicans.

The idea here was if the White House could manufacture some scandals, on the Democratic side of the aisle, that it would help offset the Republican scandals of the Iraq-war-for-profit misadventure, the Hurricane Katrina debacle, nepotistic thievery as witnessed in the Tom Delay- Jack Abramoff scandal, tax-breaks for the super wealthy, the prurient perversion related to pedophile Republican Mark Foley, and a host of other disgraces perpetrated by the Republicans and this White House.

Four Democrats, Diane Feinstein of California, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Chuck Schumer of New York, charge that Gonzales repeatedly lied under oath on the attorney firings as well as on some other things. “The attorney general took an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” said Schumer. “Instead, he tells the half-truth, the partial truth, and everything but the truth.”

The latest lie Gonzales apparently told was when he stated that he never talked to other colleagues about the firings after the controversy erupted. This charge was contradicted by former aide Monica Goodling. Goodling stated that Gonzales had brought up the issue with her, and that it made her feel “uncomfortable.” Another bone of contention is Gonzales’s 2006 testimony in which he claimed that “there has not been any serious disagreement” over the massive wire-tapping program.

This was contradicted by former Deputy Attorney General James Comey, who said that there had been dissent at the highest levels of the Justice Department in 2004 and that Gonzales—while still White House Counsel—had gone to then Attorney General John Ashcroft and asked him reverse a decision not to continue the program. FBI Director Robert Muller’s testimony to Congress backed-up Comey’s claims.

Some Republicans have now started distancing themselves from Gonzales. It’s no surprise as they eye the next elections. Do you think they’ve forgotten last November? What we must remember is that many of these same Republicans voted this immoral man in to begin with. Do you really believe that they didn’t know who Gonzales was then?

Here is a man who as White House counsel was behind the domestic spying-on-Americans scheme and authored the torture memo while calling the Geneva Conventions, “quaint.” At his confirmation hearings Gonzales was clearly less than forthcoming, and yet the then Republican controlled majority saw it fit to confirm a man most unfit to preside over the Department of Justice.

So, now many are clamoring for Gonzales’s firing. Not that he shouldn’t be fired, but is that really going to fundamentally change anything that is soiled by the hands of this White House? Will it stop the Iraq War? Will it stop the impending one with Iran? Will it stop the unification of global terrorism created by their imperialism? So, when then is Gonzales singled out? We know that the relationship between Bush and Gonzales goes back to Texas, where Gonzales was Bush’s counsel. Isn’t it quite clear that Gonzales’s actions just like those of other White House lackeys like “Scooter” Libby were done to benefit the Administration?

In recent months, an awful lot has been made about all those “illegal” aliens breaking the law. Many know-nothing pundits on so-called “mainstream” media constantly complain about the “illegal” actions of Mexicans coming across the border. Yet, they remain mute about the gross illegality being committed by this White House of supposed full-blood citizens.

In fact, many in media are apologists. For example, some gallingly blame CIA spy Valerie Plame-Wilson and not Libby, or, Dick Cheney for compromising her covert status. Let’s be real; what’s worse? Some people who snuck into this country to gain a better life, or, those who use the manipulation of fear and cultural ignorance—while repeatedly lying on the podium of Congress to continue an illegal war which has led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people?

The gutless Democrats refuse to draw up articles of impeachment—which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told us was “off the table”—against these enemies of self-determination who drape themselves in democratic clothing. But, the only thing that can halt the illegal wantonly destructive behavior of this Administration is to haul all of these charlatans before the Congress in impeachment trials. Anything else just won’t do.

Benjamin is a member of The Black Star News' editorial board

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